


All Things Considered

by okemmelie



Category: The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Love Confessions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:22:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23534515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/okemmelie/pseuds/okemmelie
Summary: Paul doesn't like parties, but he likes Emma. And Emma likes parties, so he goes to this one. And all things considered? It's not too bad.
Relationships: Paul Matthews/Emma Perkins
Comments: 32
Kudos: 51





	All Things Considered

**Author's Note:**

> this one goes out to jordan (<3), who requested paulkins + 10 from this list of prompts: https://helenmcwife.tumblr.com/post/614580508207218688/prompts-for-writing
> 
> anyway, i love paul matthews

Parties have never been Paul’s scene. They’re too loud, the music is always awful and somehow, someone always either suggests karaoke or just starts singing along to the awful music. No thank you!

There’s a party in their dorm on Friday and Paul’s roommate, Ted, is planning on going. Paul knows this because Ted  _ always  _ goes to the parties. He also never shuts up about them in the week leading up to them, so Paul always knows when they are. He supposes that’s better than not knowing and accidentally getting stuck in unwanted conversations with drunk girls who think using the bathroom down the hall rather than the one by the actual party is a good idea (okay, those things still happen but at least Paul is able to mentally prepare for them, at least a little bit).

Parties have never been Paul’s scene, so even though there’s a party just down the hall from him on Friday, he’s not going. At least he’s not planning on going.

Sometimes plans change.

There’s this incredibly cute girl who works in a kind of shitty coffee shop just off campus, Beanie’s. Paul’s been going there instead of the slightly cheaper, slightly better Campus Café & Coffee Shop just outside their building for the past six months and it’s all because of this girl. Emma.

Emma also lives in his dorm building. He knows this because they often stop and talk in the kitchen and because she occasionally invites him into her room. They’ve gotten to know each other quite well over the past six months, but there’s just one issue with the whole ordeal. One tiny issue that Paul hasn't quite figured out how to approach.

You see, not only is Emma incredibly cute. She’s also incredibly funny, incredibly smart, incredibly interesting… incredibly incredible! That’s not the issue. The issue is that Paul likes her. And not just a little bit. He likes her a lot.

So when Emma, as Paul and Ted waits for her to finish making their drinks, asks if he’s going to the party on Friday, he eats the  _ no  _ that’s on its way out and nods as confidently as his body allows him instead. “Yes. Of course I am. I mean, we are. Ted and I. We’re going.”

Sure, he fumbles the words a little bit, but who cares? Paul does, but then Emma laughs and smiles, and then it’s suddenly not all that bad anway. “Good. I’m looking forward to seeing you there.” She hands them their drinks and Ted looks like he’s about to say something (something stupid, undoubtely), so Paul grabs ahold of him and drags him outside.

“You like Emma,” Ted says as soon as the door closes behind them. “So  _ that’s _ why you keep insisting we go to Beanie’s. You. Like. Emma.”

Paul doesn’t know whether he should be impressed that Ted managed to keep it in until Emma couldn’t hear them or surprised that he didn’t realize until just now. He ends up acting on neither, because he realizes that Ted’s just going to be annoying if he knows for sure that Paul has a crush on her. “That’s not the reason. I do  _ not _ like Emma.”

But Ted doesn’t buy it. “No, no, no. You do like Emma. You do not like parties. Not the other way around. Go back in there and ask for her fucking number, dude!”

Paul sighs. “I have her fucking number, dude.”

“Then ask her on a date!”

“I’m not going to ask her on a date.”

“You’re fucking useless, Paul.”

Paul doesn’t like parties. But sometimes you have to make sacrifices, he tells himself as he goes out there anyway. And Emma? She’s worth it.

The party’s just like he feared. Loud, filled with annoying people and terrible music. But at least it’s filled with annoying people, terrible music and Emma. Well. Maybe not filled with her, but she’s there and it counts for something, because she sees him walking down the hall and a big smile grows on her lips as she heads for him. “Paul!”

“Emma!” He greets her back and closes his arms around her when she pulls him down for a hug. She’s nice to hug. Sure, she’s tiny, but she smells nice and, well, she’s Emma. That definitely helps. “Good to see you!”

She tells him it’s good to see him too and then she pulls him into the kitchen to get snacks. She’s been there since the beginning and all she wants is snacks, he’s just arrived because sure, he’s been excited to see Emma, but he’s also been dreading  _ actually _ going to the party.

But he’s there and it’s not too bad, because Emma sits on the floor and leans against the fridge and pats the ground beside her for Paul to come join her, which he does. There’s nowhere at a party like this he’d rather be than in the kitchen with Emma, away from the action and with the person he actually came here for.

He doesn’t know how long they spend there, but it’s a long while. And before he knows it, Emma’s hand is on his cheek and she’s leaning in closer and oh, okay. She’s going to kiss him. Maybe. At least he thinks she’s going to kiss him, because she’s still leaning in and she’s closing her eyes and okay, he can work with this. So he closes his eyes as well and he leans in and–

“Wow, okay. Hi friends.” It’s Bill. Bill interrupts them.

And as Paul looks up, he finds out it’s not just Bill. It’s also Ted. Ted, with his hands around Bill’s waist (and okay, so there’s definitely a few unbuttoned buttons by the collar of Bill’s shirts and Paul swears he can see hickies and ugh, this seems just like Ted.

Emma starts to say something. “Wait, are you two–”

Bill starts talking before she finishes. “Oh? No, we’re, uh. No, we’re just–”

Ted cuts both of them off. “Yeah. You know, there’s been some real tension in our friend group lately. I suggest an orgy to save our friendship.”

It earns him an eye roll from Emma and a little shove from Bill, who takes a step away only to lean right back into his touch. “I hope you know you’re the worst,” Emma tells Ted, who just shrugs and slips his arm back around Bill.

“Anyway, Paul, thanks for coming to the party. Maybe don’t come back to our room for a while? Thanks, you’re the best.” Ted blows him a kiss and with that, him and Bill are off.

A while after they’ve left the room, Emma puts a hand on his shoulder and Paul turns to look at her with a raised eyebrow. “Dude, breathe!” She tells him.

And sure enough, he’s been holding his breath. He does as she tells him and he breathes out and then in again, and she laughs at him and he laughs along and it’s not a bad time at all.

They end up quickly grabbing some drinks, then they go to check on the status of Paul’s room. There’s a sock on the door and there’s definitely… Sounds coming from in there. Good for Ted, but boy, Paul could use some sleep.

And perhaps Emma catches on, because after a while she takes his hand (is his hand supposed to feel like it’s burning but in a way that makes him not want to let go, ever?). “You know, my roommate’s actually out of town. If you’d like, you can crash on my floor and not deal with having to wait for them to finish. Not that I mind waiting with you, but I did want to offer.”

“I…” Oh. God. “Yeah. Yeah, that’d be great.”

They go to Emma’s room and Paul crashes on her floor and it’s far better than partying and it’s far,  _ far  _ better than dealing with his roommate bringing people home, even if those people happen to be their friends.

Falling asleep proves difficult. He keeps thinking about Emma, which makes sense. She’s literally right there, in the bed just above him and she offered him to stay here and she held his hand all the way back here and she’s been so sweet and accommodating all night. She also makes his heart beat crazy fast and she’s not even doing anything.

Paul’s never really wanted much in life. Sure, he’s getting educated or whatever, but it feels more like something he  _ has  _ to do than something he wants to do. He’s never really wanted a girlfriend (or a boyfriend either, for that matter). It’s just all seemed like too much work, too much involvement. And to be fair, he’s had a girlfriend before, but he’s pretty sure he never actually liked her. She liked him and he was like seventeen, how was he supposed to know what liking someone felt like?

If liking someone feels like what he feels for Emma, he’s not sure he’s a fan, however. Because his chest feels like it’s tightening and he can’t get her out of his thoughts and there’s a longing, a longing that he’s never felt towards anything ever and it’s  _ terrifying _ . It’s new so it’s terrifying.

And now he’s overthinking it, which is great. It’s exactly what he needs when he’s staying over at Emma’s dorm room where there’s literally nothing he can do to escape it. It’s just great. The best, in fact.

He sits up and tries to breathe a little better, and maybe it’s not the best plan because it makes Emma move around and okay, yeah, no she’s opening her eyes and she’s looking at him and  _ fuck _ . “Paul?”

“Emma.”

“Are you alright?” She asks, already climbing down on the floor next to him.

“Yeah.” Does it make it better that she’s being so sweet and caring? Absolutely not. It also doesn’t make it better that she wraps her blanket and arm around him. “No.”

“Oh.” Emma nods a few times. “What’s up? Anything I can do?”

Paul laughs nervously. What else is he supposed to do? “No, uh… No, I don’t think so. I, uhh...” He sighs. He sighs because he has no other way of explaining this away but telling the truth. “I think I’m in love with you and I’m terrified.”

Now it’s Emma’s turn to sigh, though it sounds much more like a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank fuck.”

“Thank fuck?” Paul asks, suddenly feeling more confused than terrified (and panicked; he much prefers confused to both panicked and terrified.

Emma nods. She then lets her arm drop from around him and instead, she climbs into his lap and okay, she sure is straddling him and she sure is looking right into his eyes and she sure is putting her hands on his cheeks and smiling and it sure is adorable. “Dude, I’ve literally been trying to flirt with you for the last six months, so yeah. Thank fuck. Because I think I’m in love with you too and knowing you feel the same? Kind of makes it less terrifying.”

He’s not sure he agrees completely; it’s still pretty fucking terrifying in his opinion. But then she kisses him and it’s suddenly not too bad, all things considered.


End file.
